Qualifying: Johnson's record pole

Jimmie Johnson claimed pole position for Sunday's Winston Cup race at Kansas Speedway, smashing the track record for the three-year old oval in the process

Oct 3, 2003, 11:33 PM

The Hendrick Motorsports star was the only driver to lap the 1.5mile speedway in under 30s, with his fastest lap average of 180.373 mph (29.938s) obliterating Dale Earnhardt Jr's old record of 177.924 mph. Cooler weather signalled an increase in lap speed, best illustrated by the fact that the 18 fastest times in qualifying were all good enough to eclipse the old record.

Mike Skinner, deputising for the injured Jerry Nadeau, qualified his MB2 Motorsports Pontiac second, ahead of Earnhardt Jr. Bobbly Labonte will start fourth, with Rusty Wallace fifth.

Points leader Matt Kenseth struggled badly in qualifying for the second week running. As at Talledega, the Roush Racing driver couldn't any qualifying pace in his car, and was once again forced to use a provisional to get into the race. He'll start from 37th, although he'll gain some comfort from the fact that his nearest championship rival, Kevin Harvick, could only manage 24th.